


Not Without A Fight

by BrokePerception



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Drama, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-31
Updated: 2012-05-31
Packaged: 2017-11-06 11:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/418150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokePerception/pseuds/BrokePerception
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth herself refused to give without a fight, too... Yet, how do Calleigh and Horatio deal with it all when time to say goodbye comes? DuCaine /Sequel to: Ilias/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

BETA READ by _Lady Anemone & Queen Sunstar_

* * *

 **WARNING:** Cancer

* * *

Chapter 1: NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT

"Happy birthday, Emily!" Calleigh exclaimed as she carried her daughter on her hip in the kitchen, where a huge birthday cake with chocolate and whip cream was waiting for the two-year-old toddler girl. Horatio just lit the golden colored little candles on it. His daughter's eyes went big with surprise, seeing the little flames. Her mind couldn't understand that the flames had come from the safety match, which was now burned down to carbon between Horatio's fingers. Nevertheless, Emily still seemed to like the flames on the candles and screamed in pleasure, like only she could.

Horatio lovingly took his daughter from her mother and brought her to her birthday cake. "Blow, Emily..." He lowered himself as he showed her how to blow and his breath played with the little flames. Emily tried to imitate her father, but only seemed to be able to suck, instead of blow air. Calleigh chuckled, and lowered herself to the candles as well. She tucked her long golden locks behind her ear and blew some air in the direction of the flames, which made them play again. She turned to her toddler daughter. "See?"

Emily pulled some wrinkles in her forehead, indicating she really wasn't too happy with the situation, though her face lit up again as Elizabeth walked in the kitchen, too. "Morning to the three of you." Little Emily stretched out her arms to be picked up by Elizabeth and started to babble happily.

"Liz! Liz!"

"Hi, little princess," she said with a small smile, taking the toddler from her father. "Happy birthday." Emily suddenly didn't pay any attention to the birthday cake or her parents anymore.

Calleigh smiled. "You are not my best friend anymore?"

"Never was," Horatio said, "Because... I am," blowing out the bright orange flames on top of the golden colored candles both at the same time as his arms sneaked around her middle from behind and he pulled her close. She stroked a finger over the whip cream and put some on Horatio's nose as she turned around in the embrace. He pulled her in a very passionate kiss, so her nose was suddenly covered with whip cream too.

"Emily?" Calleigh tried, but her daughter didn't pay any attention to her. Her two parents just stood there like idiots with whip cream on their noses. Horatio licked the sweet, white substance from the tip of his wife's nose, and she did the same with him. She then turned to the birthday cake again and picked up the knife which laid aside it to cut eight pieces.

"Where's Tristan?" Horatio asked, as his wife skillfully cut the chocolate and whip cream birthday cake.

"Still snoring," Elizabeth answered, as Calleigh already finished cutting the cake, her fingers entirely covered in the white substance. She maneuvered to the sink, carefully put the dangerously large knife in there and started to lick her fingers.

"Don't keep everything for yourself, Mrs. Caine," Horatio teased as he playfully caught her wrists and pulled her to him, eagerly licking the whip cream. Calleigh purred; it felt heavenly to be called like that: Mrs. Caine. Both heard Elizabeth mumbling something about a 'midlife crisis'.

"You already going to eat cake this early?"

"Yes," Calleigh and Horatio replied at exactly the same moment. Emily's laughter filled the little kitchen, as Elizabeth teasingly tickled the toddler's tummy. Calleigh looked at the scene with a smile on her lips, but she still couldn't fool Horatio. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Calleigh sighed. "There could have been two."

"It isn't your fault, Calleigh."                                                                 




"Then why do I still feel like that?"

"Because you can't expect to run before you are able to crawl," Horatio answered, looking in her green eyes. "Karma isn't always right." She locked her pure green eyes with his deep blue depths. "I'm rather stoic, and that might sound very insensitive sometimes."

"It doesn't. It sounds true."

Elizabeth suddenly seemed to lose her balance. She suddenly looked impossibly pale and was looking for support on the kitchen island. "I'm fine," she said, as Horatio's gaze fell upon her trembling figure. "I think I just stood up too fast." His piercing blue eyes showed his disbelief.

Emily was put on the floor and looked at Elizabeth confusedly.

"Sure?" Calleigh asked, missing the lie in her words.

Elizabeth nodded, trying to reassure the parents and trying to add a small smile, but it just didn't work. She felt her heartbeat pulsating fast in her head; the corners of her lips quivered and then... BANG!

"Elizabeth!" Calleigh exclaimed, as her eyes widened in panic.

The bang which could be heard as Elizabeth hit the kitchen floor hard, scared Emily very much. Her own blue depths immediately looked around the kitchen to find her parents, as she started crying, not understanding why Elizabeth suddenly lay on the floor and wasn't moving anymore.

The little girl's crying made the teenager regain her consciousness. The very first thing she registered was Horatio's soft voice, kindly pushing her back, as she unconsciously tried to sit in an upright position. She lay on her back with her eyes wide open, breathing heavily and confusedly staring at the ceiling first, before trailing to Horatio's face. Behind him, Elizabeth vaguely noticed little Emily being picked up by her mother, who was trying everything to soothe her daughter, which was obviously difficult, because she really looked like she needed to be soothed herself as well. She worried, and... rightly.

Horatio's fingers cautiously closed around the young mother's wrist, feeling a very fast heartbeat, which was likely way too high. A frown appeared between the lieutenant's eyebrows. Strange. You usually faint when your blood pressure gets too low, causing a very low heartbeat at the same time.

He stood up and navigated to the refrigerator to retrieve a can of cola, handing it to Elizabeth and telling her not to drink too fast.

O°O°O°O°

A few minutes after the cola, Elizabeth already sat upright on the kitchen tiles.

"You alright?" Calleigh asked, concern in every single word she said. She considered her younger half sister to be strong and it had been very unusual and scary to see her ending up in such a vulnerable state.

Liz nodded. "Positive," she added, seeing Calleigh's concern filled expression. In the background, the three adults heard Tristan Ilias' crying. Elizabeth pushed herself up with all the strength she had, and without any help, saying, "My little boy's awake, I believe."

"I'll go," Horatio suggested, but Liz immediately passed it off.

"I'm fine," she said, gently leaving the kitchen to check on her son, while Calleigh tried to shush her own daughter by quietly rocking her on her hip and rubbing her back.

"Sometimes," Horatio sighed as the stubborn girl left, looking at his wife meaningfully, "that one sentence drives me so nuts." She and Liz shared the same damn stubbornness.

O°O°O°O°

Elizabeth softly pushed the door of her bedroom open, navigating to the bright green infant bed. Elizabeth had bought almost everything in green, basically because she just didn't really want to follow the blue and pink hype. She wanted to be different... The crib stood at the end of Elizabeth's own bed, so she could immediately get to her son if the little one woke up at night, and prevent him from waking Emily with his crying as well.

"Hi, darling. Don't cry," Elizabeth said, giving the crying baby a faint little smile. "I'm here." When she reached out to lift her baby son out of his infant bed, she suddenly felt quite dizzy again and sought for support on the edge of Tristan's crib. The whole room was spinning before her eyes, and she just couldn't seem to find that edge...

Right then, Elizabeth fully realized something was wrong. She already had the same dizzy feeling for a couple of months, but it just hadn't been as strong as this yet. This was the last thing she thought of before she lost consciousness for the second time in barely one hour. When Horatio and Calleigh, downstairs, heard the big bang, both of them immediately realized what must had happened.

O°O°O°O°

Calleigh, standing in the doorway of Emily's toy room, instinctively turned her head for a quart to look at her recent husband, who had his arms lovingly draped around her figure, with a worried expression on her angelic face. His expression showed exactly the same emotions as hers, as Horatio turned around to run upstairs with his wife in his wake. Emily was just trying to get a good sound out of the little xylophone Horatio had bought for his little girl for her first birthday, and was so focused on it she didn't even notice her parents leaving her doorway.

They hurried up the stairs to Elizabeth's room, and Horatio lowered himself on the one side of the eighteen-spring-old, while Calleigh tried to calm the baby down. She didn't succeed, and sank down beside her husband, with tears of despair in her green eyes. He confidently took her small hand, and squeezed it rather softly. "Don't worry, sweetheart," Horatio spoke, "We are going to take her to the hospital, so someone can tell us immediately what's wrong."

His wife looked at him directly, and saw the truth in his blue depths. She nodded. "Who's going to stay with the babies?"

"Maybe we could ask Janeau. And then I'm going to inform the others they won't be expecting us at the lab for the rest of the day anymore, and as long as we aren't sure Liz is going to be alright."

Calleigh looked up at her husband with nervous eyes. "Thank you."

O°O°O°O°

The way to the hospital had been fast to start with. Janeau had taken only ten minutes to get to the DuCaine apartment to care for Emily, and Liz' little baby boy as his mommy was being brought to the E.R.

They had done loads of tests. And Elizabeth felt more like a pincushion at the moment. Doctor Martinez walked into the room and noticed her patient had fallen asleep. Likely due to the mass of tests she had undergone that morning. Little Tristan Ilias was lying onto her breast.

Liz had been asking for her son. And while she had been taken away for examination and tests, Horatio and Calleigh had gone back home to get some clothes for her, because she would have to stay overnight at least. And they had brought the little one along. His little hands had immediately clenched into fists, and he didn’t even think about letting go of his mommy's nightgown.

"Sometimes, I would like to be as peaceful as he is," Calleigh whispered, sinking back against her husband, who had his strong arms lovingly draped around her frame, pointing at Tristan Ilias, not having noticed the doctor had entered.

Doctor Martinez beckoned the couple that had brought her patient to the E.R., and led them to her office on the other side of the hallway, where the examination rooms were located.

O°O°O°O°

There, she first closed the blinds to block out the red and orange colors the Miami sunset brought. Then, she offered the two cops a chair on the opposite of her desk, behind which she took place herself. "In most cases, you lose consciousness if your heart isn't pumping fast enough, and your heartbeat is too low," she started. "But, there's also another possible cause, which says you can faint if your heart beat is too fast, too. We are talking about something like one hundred eighty beats per minute, which is extremely high."

Calleigh glanced at her husband briefly. She didn't have much with Medicine, but understood a heart rate that fast couldn't be anything less than dangerous.

"A low heart rate is often caused by exhaustion, sometimes by lack of vitamins, while a high one can be caused by stress and trauma. According to the recent happening in Miss Delaney's life, which were all quite tragic and likely had some more impact, we believe she could be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder."

Now it was the lieutenant's time to glance at his wife, but neither of them spoke.

"It is be possible she has been in some kind of a shock during the past months, which prevented it all from pushing through her mind. No kind of lingering shock is permanent, though. And I would like to believe she's gradually starting to realize, and is blocking it all out, because she's mentally not capable of dealing with it. Did she talk to you about something like that lately?"

Both denied. Elizabeth was a very closed person to start with. If something was going on, you really had to drag it out of her. Liz mainly didn't want anyone to worry about her. She thought she was someone who wasn't worth being worried about.

She was used to living her life like a ghost. And it had become so different over the last few months. There were people who cared now; who wondered about her wellbeing all the time.

"She likely tries to repress it all, because it hurts so much."

"She already did just that from the first moment, I'm sure," Calleigh whispered. "Otherwise, Tristan would have never survived."

"That's possible," the doctor replied calmly, "but the best option to deal with such kind of trauma is to just let it come. You can't really postpone the pain without any professional psychological help."

"Every time something reminds her of the crash or the burn, she puts herself up incredibly defensive, and gets really upset. That's why we almost never started about it."

"That sounds like a good choice to me."

"I'm sure she realizes she could talk to us about anything," Horatio continued, "but she just never acted on it."

Doctor Martinez nodded in understanding and sighed. "The results of the blood tests should be in tomorrow. You two will be the first to inform if anything strange pops up, but I highly doubt that this could be… Anyway, I will keep you posted."

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

There were some strange things going on with her blood values, though. The pattern entirely consisted with the last stages of acute leukemia… mostly considered to be quite aggressive. To be completely sure about the diagnosis, there would have to be a bone marrow examination, which was the only thing that could give confirmation or decisive answer.

It was still very early when the needle was stuck into Liz' lower back, and she grasped her half sister's hand tightly, tears rimming at the edges of her eyes as she snapped them shut. Horatio was there as well. He was sitting on the other side and caressed her shoulder lightly, seeing the long thin needle disappear into the young mom's spine.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

According to the urge and subject of the test, the lab had done an extra effort. The results of the bone marrow came in the same evening. They were... shattering. Crushing.

Elizabeth didn't show any kind of emotion as the doctor told her she was going to die, though. She just asked her how much time she still had. "Let's not run ahead of things," was the immediate reply.

"I would like to hear how much."

"Four months," Doctor Martinez concluded. "Maybe we could prolong it for another two months with some pills, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can still do. I'm sorry."

"Is there a chance I'm going to survive this?"

"The kind of leukemia you have, is a very aggressive–" "I thought I asked you if there's a chance I'm going to survive this, and not to update me on how bad I'm doing."

"The chance is particularly small."

"But it exists?"

"Yes. Although–" "Thank you," Liz answered in that one self-assured tone, which was only very rarely heard. She thought about her little baby boy, and how hard her son had fought for a life. "Then I'm going to survive, too. I'm going to get better."

"And a bone marrow transplant? Elizabeth's my half sister and I could be a match to–" "That's impossible." Calleigh looked… devastated. "I'm sorry, but the leukemia has already progressed too much. And even if you are a match, Miss Delaney wouldn't be strong enough for such a radical operation."

"This can't be happening!" Calleigh uttered. "Is there nothing? It already cost me more than seventeen years to find my sister, and now…" She fell into her husband's arms, and started crying uncontrollably.

"Calleigh…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: GOODBYE

"I am not just going to give up like that without a huge fight. I am going to fight like no other. I am still needed on this Earth," Elizabeth said, pointing at her beautiful baby boy, who was asleep in her half sister's arms.

* * *

"I'm fine," Elizabeth said, her voice sounding weaker than she wanted to. She was just eating the Kefir Calleigh had brought. She took the empty spoon out of her mouth, put it in the now empty little pot, carefully set it on the wooden bedside table and looked up. Her baby boy was gently asleep in her arms.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

She had ended up passing out once more, and being brought to the hospital with an ambulance. Calleigh's shift had ended and she had just picked up her daughter and Elizabeth's son from their day-care before heading home. Of course, Elizabeth was home in her state, but Horatio and her half sister had both decided it was easier for her not having to worry about a toddler and a baby. She had become so much weaker over the past few months. She had felt it herself, too, but hadn't wanted to admit she too felt she eventually was losing the fight, just like the people around her felt it.

When Calleigh had come home after picking up Emily and Tristan Ilias, she hadn't been greeted with Elizabeth's usual smile. She had called her half sister's name, but hadn't gotten a response. She had put her daughter down, because she was getting a little heavy and had walked upstairs with the children to put them in their box. Elizabeth hadn't been upstairs either, and there still hadn't sounded a reply, but when she had gotten downstairs again, and had walked into the kitchen, she had seen Elizabeth lying there, cold. She could have been lying there for hours. Of course, Calleigh and Horatio called at least once a day when they both were at work, to make sure she was doing fine, and to be able to intervene immediately when she didn't pick up, meaning she had likely fainted again. The medication to control her acute leukemia didn't have much effect at all, but she had gotten others to prevent fainting. That, however, didn't mean Horatio and her half sister weren't afraid anymore.

According to Elizabeth's mobile phone in her hand, she had been lying there on the kitchen floor for two hours; since Horatio's last call. Calleigh had immediately dialed 911 before sinking on her knees beside the other Duquesne. Feeling a weak pulse, she had been quite relieved. Sure, she hadn't liked the fact it was only a weak pulse much, but when she had seen Elizabeth's cold body hopelessly lying there, she had initially thought she was... gone.

After dialing 911 she had called her husband, who had only said, "I'm on my way."

Everyone realized it was only a matter of time. She would stop fighting soon, but in respect for Elizabeth herself, who still believed she would survive, they didn't say the words out aloud. Of course, they still hoped Elizabeth was right. She had really wanted to go home with her son, and because everyone realized it could be the last time, no one held her from doing so.

When everyone had initially met her, Elizabeth had been a little overweight… but since the first and unfortunately not last time she had fainted, she had become only a shade of what she had once been, weighing only ninety-seven pounds while being a little over six feet tall. It gave Calleigh the feeling to have failed as Elizabeth's half-sister. Although she fully realized it wasn't her fault Elizabeth had become like that, but due to the trouble her leukemia brought.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

"You need anything?" Calleigh asked, standing in the doorway of Elizabeth's room, witnessing her dying half sister rocking her baby boy and stroking his cheek with her frail hand.

"No. I'm fine," she replied, as Horatio joined his younger wife, holding his own daughter.

"If anything happens to me, would you take care of my little Tristan Ilias?" Elizabeth suddenly asked almost inaudibly, feeling herself losing her last strength.

"Of course," Calleigh replied, biting her bottom lip to prevent herself from crying the restraining tears. Horatio's hand reached out to his wife's waist, pulling her closer to him at hearing those words.

"Would you tell him about his mother?" She weakly asked, looking into her half sister's eyes.

"Of course," she responded, "I would tell him what a beautiful woman she was."

The past year had made Elizabeth so grown-up in many perspectives. Finding her half sister. The death of her boyfriend in the car crash. Their beautiful baby boy, who had inherited his father's first name and so much more. She had been forced to have so much responsibility at her young age. She wasn't a teenage girl anymore; she had become a woman, and everyone agreed about that.

"Thanks."

Calleigh smiled. Over the past few months, Elizabeth and Tristan Ilias had become a part of the DuCaine family. Elizabeth's son had become used to them and already saw Emily as his older sister. The question if they would care for him as their own son, didn't have to be posed.

"I'm going to take a shower," Calleigh mentioned, "I haven't had the chance so since I came home." It wasn't a blame.

It was already way over midnight. They had been at the hospital until two.

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning," came Elizabeth's reply. "Love you."

"Aww," Calleigh uttered, her lips quivering as she tried to give her a little smile. "Love you, too," she said, blowing a kiss in Tristan Ilias and Elizabeth's direction and turning around, heading for the bathroom.

"Calleigh?"

"Mmm?"

"Those are the best days of my life," Elizabeth admitted, rocking her baby boy gently in her arms.

On her way to the bathroom, Calleigh furiously dabbed her eyes, preventing the tears from rolling down her cheeks. The repetition of her last words in her head had eventually done it; had moved her half sister so much she was crying.

"You sure you're feeling alright?" Horatio asked as his wife left.

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm fine."

O°O°O°O°

A few minutes later, Horatio joined Calleigh under the jet of water.

"Calleigh..." He said, wiping away the one tear which had found its way through the barrier, before pulling her into his embrace and holding her tight, knowing she really needed a shoulder to cry on at the moment.

"She's giving up," Calleigh whispered, as she finally allowed all her tears to search their way out. Horatio didn't say anything as he tried to comfort her, one of his own rare tears sliding down his cheek and mingling with the warm water.

Elizabeth had insisted on tucking her son in herself. She had ensured him she was fine, although she realized Horatio had likely seen her hands trembling as she carried her son's weight to his white crib, and holding herself on the edge as she put him under his covers and gave him his pacifier. 'Mommy's little boy'.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

That night, Calleigh and Horatio made love like they never had before. Calleigh had picked up the pace and had brought them to a very hard release. Maybe that's the moment when you need sex the most; when you need someone to make you reach the culmination: when you are emotionally such a wreck you couldn't care less.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

A little past five in the morning, Calleigh woke her husband by sitting upright in panic, pushing the covers off both, tears and sweat mingled on her troubled angelic face. She had had a nightmare. Horatio hadn't asked what she had dreamt, but had pulled her close to him and had rocked her like a baby, until she fell asleep again on top of his chest.

O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°O°

When Horatio opened his eyes that morning, the first thing he saw was a missing spot beside him. As he looked up, he saw his wife entering the room again with their daughter on her hip. Horatio smiled at them and spread his arms to pull his two girls into his embrace.

He rolled them over, so Emily came lying between both of her parents. They laid there like that for another few instants, before Calleigh hopped out of the bed, leaving her husband and toddler daughter alone in the bed, saying she was going to make breakfast. As she walked down the hallway to the stairs, she heard little Emily giggling. Her father was probably tickling her again. Shaking her blond head, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she went downstairs.

Soon, she was joined in the kitchen by Horatio and their little girl.

"I'm going to get the baby," Calleigh said, as she put a dish with bacon and fried eggs onto the kitchen table. She wasn't used to her half sister sleeping in, but thought she could use some rest after yet another hospitalization.

She gently opened the bedroom door, tiptoeing to the baby crib at the edge of Elizabeth's bed, but the white wooden crib was empty. Calleigh's gaze found the boy in his mother's arms, in the big bed. A smile spread across her lips as she tiptoed further to the edge of the bed, gently picking up the little one from his mother. Something was wrong. There was obviously something missing: …breathing.

"Liz?" Calleigh's soft voice broke the deadly silence in the room. "Elizabeth?" She asked once more, gently squeezing her half sister's hand, holding a sleeping and snoring Tristan Ilias on her hip with the other one. Liz' hands were still warm. "Horatio!" Calleigh screamed, tears flooding her beautiful green eyes, as she sank down on her knees still holding the little boy, who just slept through it all.

Elizabeth had been terrified to lose her son. And now it had turned out to be the other way around...

Her last memory would be lying by her baby boy's side. It had cost her her last strength to pull Tristan Ilias up next to her slowly dying self and it had been the last thing she had done: holding her little boy for the last time; hoping he would have a wonderful life. The smile of her goodbye was still lying on her too pale lips.

As Horatio suddenly heard his wife's voice, he already knew why she was calling him. Elizabeth herself was... gone, but the thoughts of her would go on, through Calleigh and Horatio, through Emily, and through her little son. He let his fork fall onto the dish, stood up from his chair and went upstairs to Elizabeth's room, lethargically. What he saw as he reached the doorway, made his heart break. He joined Calleigh on the floor at the edge of the bed, took the sleeping little Tristan Ilias from her, and allowed her to cry into his chest until every single tear had fallen from her eyes.

In between sobs, Calleigh tried to tell Horatio, but she just couldn't get the words out.

"Sshhhh..."

In the meantime, Emily began crying downstairs.


	3. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

That night, when Calleigh and Horatio had made love to each other, Elizabeth had gone to join her son's father. The couple was reunited again and this time, it would be definite. She'd died, just like her heart had died together with Ilias. Elizabeth was cremated and scattered. She was simply given to the wind, just like she had wanted to; just like her first Ilias. It had been pretty intimate.

Elizabeth hadn't been scared of dying. She had still achieved everything she had wanted to achieve after hearing she was going to die. She had gotten her degree, and had gotten her driver's license… which had only been possible with the unequalled patience of Horatio. She had given birth to her beautiful and healthy little boy.

She hadn't been scared of dying; not even when her last strength had faded, but the fact she would possibly never see her son growing up, had scared her to death.

Ann came home from vacation in Greece the day after. She needed two years and a psychiatrist to get over her friend's death. She had always loved taking photographs and when she got the opportunity to become a professional photographer in Sweden, she left sunny Miami behind. She became a very famous and much sought-after photographer there.

In her office over there, however, stood only one picture: the one Calleigh had taken on the day Tristan Ilias was born, with a big smiling Elizabeth, holding her newborn baby boy and sitting beside a proud godmother. The post office became used to tons of packets between America and Sweden soon.

Once a year, Calleigh and Horatio went to the graveyard, with Emily and Tristan Ilias, whom they had brought up as their own son… always telling him stories, though; about how much his mommy had loved him and what a strong, beautiful woman she had been before she’d died. Every time they visited the graveyard, they took a picture of little Tristan Ilias along with them to put on the headstone.

The pictures, however, changed. The little baby boy would grow up to be a fine cop, just like his red haired godfather, having inherited all good things from both his parents. He obviously had his father's brown eyes. At the moments he was happy, though… there could be a clear green shine into them as well...

Whenever she looked at Tristan Ilias, Calleigh often recognized features of her deceased half sister Elizabeth, so it sometimes seemed like she was still there with them. And she was... She was.

When Emily became a teenager, and old enough to go out partying; drink alcohol and chase cute guys – leaving her parents at home in fear of something happening to their little girl, who had grown up too quickly in her parents' eyes – she was so much alike Elizabeth. The only difference was that she had her father's piercing bright sapphire blue eyes, unlike her blond mother's, which were pure emerald green.

The small toddler had often been told Elizabeth's had been exactly the same. She and Calleigh had likely both inherited it from their deceased grandmother. Neither of them had known her. She had died giving birth to Duke's younger brother.

Emily obviously had the gentle nature of the Caines, which made her personality resemble her father's pretty good. However... She also had the unequalled stubbornness of a Duquesne, which appeared to be a typical woman thing in their family.

In 2027, Calleigh and Horatio's daughter would graduate university with a degree in English, and she became a teacher at her old high school. Only a good year later, she would be engaged to a nice, decent guy called Koen, and give birth to their first child.

They gave Calleigh and Horatio two grandsons and one granddaughter, who was the apple of Calleigh's eye. The girl wasn't totally coincidentally called Liz, after Elizabeth.

Although the two of them had gotten engaged, Emily and Koen actually never got married. Neither of them had wanted to go through all that fuss. So they gave a huge garden party instead, when Emily turned thirty, exactly nine years after they first met.

Wherever Calleigh and Horatio or Ann went, it actually really didn't matter, because Elizabeth would be with them all the time. They would keep the memories of their fighter alive. They would keep carrying her along with them, forever in their hearts.

 

 

\-- THE END --


End file.
